Madagascar Protests Fuel Surge in Bitchat App Usage

Block CEO Jack Dorsey’s decentralized peer-to-peer messaging platform Bitchat has experienced a surge in downloads from Madagascar amid ongoing protests, mirroring an increase seen during similar unrest in Nepal and Indonesia earlier in September.

A Bitcoin open-source developer known as callebtc, who is involved with the messaging service, reported on Sunday, “Bitchat downloads are spiking in Madagascar,” accompanied by screenshots of news coverage related to the protests.

“Bitchat” trending in Google searches

Callebtc did not provide exact download figures, however, Google Trends for the term “Bitchat” indicates a dramatic increase from 0 to 100 on Friday (over 90 days) within Madagascar, particularly in Antananarivo.

Google Trends monitors the popularity of a search term over a defined time frame, with 100 representing “peak popularity” and 0 indicating little interest or “not enough data.”

Simultaneously, queries like “Bitchat download” and “how to use Bitchat” ranked among the top five related searches, identified as “breakout topics,” suggesting a significant increase in interest, according to Google.

According to Chrome-Stats, Bitchat has been downloaded 365,307 times since its launch, with over 21,000 downloads in the past day and more than 71,000 in the past week. However, the statistics do not specify which regions accounted for the majority of downloads.

Protests over power and water shortages

Protests broke out in Antananarivo on Thursday, with clashes between some protesters and police, as well as reports of looting spurred by ongoing water and power shortages, which led to the dismissal of the energy minister.

Madagascar’s authorities also implemented a dusk-to-dawn curfew to quell further disturbances. Additional protests occurred on Friday and Saturday across the nation.

This follows a recent spike in Bitchat downloads in Nepal during a series of violent protests related to corruption, prompting a temporary social media ban and pushing protesters to find alternative means of communication. Indonesia similarly witnessed an increase in downloads following protests tied to corruption.

Most of Madagascar’s population lacks internet access

Madagascar ranks among the poorest countries globally. With a population just under 32 million, the global technology data platform DataReportal estimates that only 6.6 million individuals in Madagascar had internet access at the beginning of 2025.

The platform further estimates that there were over 18 million active mobile connections in the country at the start of 2025, noting that “some of these connections may only support services like voice and SMS, and may not provide internet access.”

Related: Decentralized social media app to challenge Big Tech’s ‘walled gardens’

Dorsey launched a beta version of Bitchat in July, utilizing Bluetooth mesh networks for encrypted, internet-free communication. According to the white paper, the network is entirely decentralized, lacking central servers, accounts, email addresses, or phone numbers for registration.

Encrypted messaging services face Chat Control law in EU

The European Union is currently moving to regulate private messaging services. Lawmakers are pushing for a “Chat Control” law, which would jeopardize encrypted messaging by requiring services such as Telegram, WhatsApp, and Signal to permit regulators to inspect messages prior to encryption and transmission.